NEW CASTLE – New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer announced today New Castle County natives Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza will read from their new children’s Christmas book “The Legend of The Christmas Witch,” on Wednesday, December 15 at 10:30 a.m. Tickets for this event are extremely limited and can be reserved here. The event is for ages 5 and older.
***Proof of vaccination or COVID negative result within 48 hours of the event is required prior to entrance into the venue.*** To find a local testing site near you, click HERE. Due to time constraints, there will be no photo opportunities with the authors.
Penguin Young Readers and Viking Children’s Books are proud to publish acclaimed actress Aubrey Plaza’s (Parks and Recreation, Black Bear, and Happiest Season) debut children’s book, The Legend of The Christmas Witch, co-written with her creative partner Dan Murphy and illustrated by Julia Iredale. In this highly imaginative holiday story Plaza and Murphy tell the forgotten tale of the Christmas Witch, Santa Claus’s misunderstood twin sister.
In this immersive illustrated picture book, the Christmas Witch’s story begins when her brother is torn away from her as a child. Raised alone by a witch of the woods, Kristtōrn’s powers of magic grows, as does her temper. Determined to find her long lost twin, she sets out on a perilous journey across oceans to find him. But what she finds instead is a deep-seated fear of her powers and a confrontation that could leave the fate of Christmas hanging in the balance.
“Dan and I are looking forward to bringing The Legend of The Christmas Witch to life for the children of New Castle County,” said Plaza. “Growing up here, we spent a great deal of time in our County libraries exploring our love of reading with our families and we’re thrilled to be returning to read from our book. We are thankful for invitation from County Executive Meyer and for the partnership with New Castle County libraries.”
“This is a story that Dan and I have been working on for some time now and we can’t wait to introduce a character as fierce, independent, and headstrong as Kristtörn to readers this holiday season.”
“We are honored to welcome New Castle County natives Dan and Aubrey to the Brandywine Hundred Library for their first Delaware in-person event,” said New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. “They are both outstanding ambassadors for New Castle County and our performing arts community in Delaware.”
Plaza and Murphy have worked as creative partners for over 15 years after meeting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Together they’ve written a fresh and spirited reimagining of the legend of Santa Claus. Accompanied by strikingly gorgeous illustrations by artist Julia Iredale, The Legend of The Christmas Witch is a radical new Christmas tale that will stand apart on the holiday shelf. Injected with Plaza’s signature quirk and presented in a classic storybook format, kids of all ages will be begging for multiple readings this holiday season.
Aubrey Plaza has received critical acclaim for her starring roles in Michael Levine’s Black Bear (which she produced) and Clea DuVall’s Happiest Season. She was last seen starring in Ingrid Goes West, which she also produced, and won the 2018 Independent Spirit Award for “Best First Feature.” On television, Plaza recently starred in Noah Hawley’s FX series, Legion and is well known for playing April Ludgate on the Emmy-nominated Parks and Recreation. Plaza will next star opposite Michael Caine in Best Sellers and is currently in production on Guy Richie’s upcoming film opposite Jason Statham.
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, writer/producer Dan Murphy has been creative partners with Aubrey Plaza for more than 15 years. During their time at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he directed several short films. He and Aubrey founded Evil Hag Productions in 2016 and are currently in development on a number of documentary and narrative projects, including an upcoming animated series for Amazon. He recently served as an Associate Producer on the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards, which Aubrey hosted. He lives in Los Angeles.